Student Eligibility
All seniors who will graduate between January and August of 2024 and who scored exceptionally well on either the SAT or the ACT college admission tests during the two-year window that begins in September 2021 and runs through October 2023, are automatically considered for participation. The U.S. Department of Education looks at test records in each state and the top 20 male examinees and top 20 female examinees are used to identify the automatic candidates in each state.
In addition, Superintendent Critchfield may nominate up to ten additional male and female Idaho candidates based on their outstanding scholarhsip, but who have not been automatically selected. Students who have not been notified by the Presidential Schlars program of their eligibility, and who would like to be considered for a nomination by Superintendent Critchfield should submit these items by Wednesday, November 15 at 5pm MST.
Career and Technical Nomination
Superintendent Ybarra can also nominate up to five students based on their accomplishments in career and technical education fields. Those students should submit the same materials listed below but should note in the self-assessment they are seeking the CTE nomination. The self-assessment may wish to address some of the criteria listed in the Criteria for Candidate Information and Nomination document of the U.S. Presidential Scholars program.
Required Items:
- Student's name
- Student/parent/teacher email address (someone we can contact for missing information)
- Student's home mailing address
- Student's high school
- High school mailing address
- High school CEEB code
- An essay not to exceed 500 words describing what improvements they would make in some component of the educational system of the United States.
- A self-assessment describing their personal characteristics, leadership and service activities in their school and community, their academic achievements, and any special challenges or hurdles (if any) that the student has overcome while still achieving high academic success.
- A copy of their transcripts.
- A letter of recommendation from a high school counselor, principal, or teacher.
Additional Resources
The arts componenet of the Presidential Scholars program requires participation in the YoungArtsTM program and utilizes a separate selection process. There are no superintendent nominations. Contact the YoungArtsTM program for more information.
For more details about the U.S. Presidential Scholars program, go to the U.S. Department of Education website.